A Vertical Plaza
Ombú Plaza is an abstract representation of the ombú tree (Phytolacca dioica) that is native to South America and is found to be a central feature of the many parks that span across the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. A city that is known for its outdoors, vibrancy, nature and communal living depends on its parks as areas of ‘placemaking’ and this particular tree with its tough base and umbrella canopy as the central meeting and resting point. This piece of cardboard architecture, as inspired by the tree and its significance, aims to recreate the ambience of community and relaxation under the South American sun in the form of a central city plaza that pays tribute to the ‘lighthouse’ tree by bringing its people together under its shade and within its crevices. It aims to stand tall, to overlook the city and its people and invite its visitors to do the same in the nooks and crannies of the tree trunk that engage the idea of not just being present ‘at the tree’ but also ‘within in the tree’.
The base of the plaza in this prototype is simple circular cardboard base that represents the wide spread of the tree itself. Upon this base stands the turbine-like structure created through a cut-and-insert method using two elliptical cardboard pieces. This structure forms the main meeting/standing point representing the intertwined structure of the tree trunk. Every other side of this ‘trunk’ has balconies that have been created by cutting through the cardboard. The balconies represent abstractly, the leaves of the tree. The image of this enhanced further by the play of light and shadows that create an impression of the components of the tree on the base when light is shone from above. Each of the balconies is further connected to another on the same side using a staircase component and giving an impression of the branches of the tree that hold the tree together. The sizes of the base, trunk, and the balconies have been determined using the golden ratio as a starting point. They together represent the layering that is present in the actual tree to produce a multi-layered yet slick structure.
City plazas and public spaces have historically been fostering community that then indirectly promotes greater economic growth as well. Therefore, using the city of Buenos Aires and its ombú tree as a starting point, the Ombú Plaza stands as a central means of ‘placemaking’, the act of transforming a space into an engaged area of community and informal organization that strengthens the space and empowers its holders. Although areas like parks with these trees already exist, the utilization of this piece of cardboard architecture aims to bring to light the inspiration from nature and culture that can be joined to highlight the significance of the role they play in the lives constructed around them.
